'WE APOLOGISE'
Sri Lanka government admits ‘massive intelligence failures’ allowed ISIS-inspired jihadi group National Thowheed Jamath to massacre 290
THE Sri Lankan government has today admitted "massive intelligence failures" that allowed a local jihadi group to massacre 290 people yesterday.
National Thowheed Jamath has been named as the group responsible for the atrocity, which saw seven suicide bombers destroy churches and hotels.
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Yesterday it emerged Sri Lanka's police chief reportedly warned of suicide bombers planning to hit "prominent churches" 10 days before the large-scale attack.
Documents show cops were told of possible plans to hit religious hubs, before worshippers were killed during Easter mass yesterday.
Today the government admitted failures in an apology to the 290 dead, and near 500 injured, after being alerted to threats on April 4.
Cabinet spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said today an "international network" helped to carry out the deadly attack - it is not clear if Isis is suspected of being involved, but last night supporters of the jihadist organisation rejoiced in the massacre.
Just over a week ago police chief Pujuth Jayasundara reportedly told officers: "A foreign intelligence agency has reported that the NTJ (National Thowheeth Jama'ath) is planning to carry out suicide attacks targeting prominent churches as well as the Indian high commission in Colombo".
The NTJ is a radical Muslim group in Sri Lanka that was linked last year to the destruction of Buddhist statues.
Sri Lanka's minister of defence Ruwan Wijewardene said in a press conference: "We believe that all the culprits who have been involved in this unfortunate terrorist incident will be taken into custody as soon as possible. They have been identified, and they will be taken into custody as soon as possible."
He later confirmed 13 people have been arrested over the string of deadly blasts.
ISIS CELEBRATES
ISIS supported have boasted that the series of terror attacks were revenge for the New Zealand mosque massacre and the US-backed military campaign in Syria.
Terror expert Rita Katz said ISIS media channels are “posting rampantly” about the explosions and praying “may Allah accept” the attackers.
Fighters from Sri Lanka have been mentioned in ISIS ranks and the country would be “easily accessible” for its supporters in the region, Ms Katz said.
Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines and Indonesia, have “seen a surge of central-coordinated ISIS activity” in what it dubs its “East Asia Province.”
A number of Sri Lankan Muslims from “well-educated and elite” families were known to have joined ISIS in Syria, according to Reuters.
The Colombo attacks come just weeks after ISIS launched a massive global military campaign dubbed the ‘Revenge Invasion’ as payback for the loss of territory in Syria.
It followed the pattern of ISIS attacks in Mumbai in 2008, when a Pakistan-based Islamist group killed 165 people in hotels, a Jewish community centre, restaurants and the railway station.
'TARGETING CHURCHES'
The specific targeting of churches is another ISIS trait, with groups claiming allegiance to the organisation have carried out attacks on Christian festivals from Cairo to Baghdad.
Last year, there were 86 verified incidents of discrimination, threats and violence against Christians, according to the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL).
And there have been recent reports of clashes between Sinhalese Buddhist and Muslim communities, with some hardline Buddhist groups accusing Muslims of forcing people to convert to Islam.
Out of Sri Lanka's total population of around 22 million, 70 per cent are Buddhist, 12.6 per cent Hindu, 9.7 per cent Muslim, and 7.6 per cent Christian, according to the country's 2012 census.
In a 2016 government study it was found at least 32 Sri Lankans travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight with ISIS - sparking fears a small hardline community could be supported by jihadi veterans.
Olivier Guitta, a French analyst, : "ISIS returnees have been in the area, and made plans to attack targets there, especially hotels and churches."
In its 2018 report on Sri Lanka's human rights, the US State Department noted that some Christian groups and churches reported they had been pressured to end worship activities after authorities classified them as "unauthorized gatherings."
The death toll in the shocking attack rose sharply to 290 - with just one of the church attacks said to have seen 300 victims.
Worshippers were attacked at St Anthony's Shrine, a Catholic Church in Kochchikade, Colombo, St Sebastian's Church in Negombo, a majority Catholic town north of Colombo, and at Zion Church in the eastern town of Batticaloa - where more than 300 people are thought to have been injured.
MOST READ IN NEWS
Dozens of people in Sri Lanka reported a restriction on social media use, following the explosions.
The government confirmed it shutdown access to Facebook and WhatsApp - a tactic which has been used before in the country to prevent the spread of violence and misinformation.
A night curfew from 6pm is also in place in the wake of the attacks, the Sri Lanka defence minister announced, with no indication when it will be lifted.
British lawyer Anita Nicholson, 42, and her son Alex, 11, were among the eight Brits killed in coordinated terror assaults at churches and hotels in Colombo yesterday.
Dr Julian Emmanuel, 48, an NHS doctor from Surrey, his wife Maria, 39, and their young children Jasintha and Neethan were staying at the Cinnamon Grand when they were woken by the blast.
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